“They got [the board seats] by negotiation, Carl’s style of negotiation, and just leveraging off the fact that another activist ran a full slate for the company,” Ackman said. He delivered his comments at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York on Tuesday.
In addition to the bid from Icahn, Newell has also been challenged by rival activist shareholder, Starboard Value, which wants to replace Newell’s CEO and its entire board. Starboard has argued that the company has underperformed since buying Jarden Corp. two years ago.
“We do believe that there is incredible value at Newell. It’s a company with iconic brands. It’s brands that we all heard of [such as] Elmer’s glue, Sharpie, Paper Mate,” said Starboard CEO Jeff Smith in an interview with David Faber at the conference on Tuesday. “It’s a great company [with] great employees. Unfortunately, it’s lost its way.”
Smith revealed in a filing last week his hedge fund is also seeking four board seats at Newell, potentially putting the firm at odds with Icahn.
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